• AMARANTHINE ; bucky barnes •

three

"Father, why am I not allowed to train with the other kids? Why can I not talk to them, play with them?" The innocent child asked the man standing beside her, trying to find his hand to hold, only to be rejected.

"Lena, they are not children – they are creations with a purpose, just like you" He placed a Kimber Target 9mm pistol in her tiny hands and stepped away from her.

A young man walked in her assigned training space, he looked petrified, a single tear rolling down his cheek. She pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger.

-//-

Lena was paralyzed, unable to open her eyes, only letting her listen to what transpired around her. The sound of hospital machines filled her ears, the smell of antiseptic filling her nostrils making her uneasy.

"Her vitals are stable, no trauma to the heart or brain. She should be out of the coma any second now" A female doctor with a soothing voice was talking and she tried to focus on what she said.

"Did you examine her blood tests, biological and chemical makeup, as well as her DNA? what is she?" Agent Hill had now joined the conversation.

"She has a similar makeup as that of Steve Rogers after the super soldier serum. An additional serum was added, giving her, her powers and other abilities. Dr. Hydecker would absolutely know something about this kind of mutation" Lena's eyes were starting to flutter open, revealing the short, friendly-faced female doctor.

"Dr. Hydecker was found shredded beyond recognition earlier today, we suspect that this assassination is her doing" Agent Hill gestured towards the pale, sick-looking woman in the hospital bed.

Dr. Hydecker was her previous mission, he was her key into the Avengers facility. He also needed to be silenced cause' of his research into her kind, he had caught a scent of the creations a few years back and was now able put the pieces together – so his destiny was to die before her blade.

Lena knew she never was a normal human being, that she had been reminded of every day as a kid. She wasn't allowed to feel normal, not allowed to express or feel any kind of emotions. Forced to annihilate, standing in blood and dead bodies up to her knees, Lena just wanted this to be over, to be put out of her misery, to escape from all of this or die trying.

Boy, did she wish she could connect with Masquerade, become one, understand her, maybe they could benefit from each other and move towards living a life away from all this death and pain. Perhaps they could help her here, pull the evil out of her and let the Lena become human once again before she learned her purpose.

-//-

The doctor was giving her a full physical, checking her blood pressure and listening to her heartbeat. She would sometimes she Nick Fury outside of her room, he would glance quickly at her before walking away, she sensed fear, a fear of Masquerade and what damage it would cause if the being living inside her would go ballistic.

"I wish I could understand it, the maniac thing that lives inside of me" Lena's words caught Fury's attention. He pushed the door fully open and treaded lightly up to her bed.

"So, this thing, Masquerade as you call it, has she always been with you?" Fury asked her calmly.

"No, not always. My constant mental fight against right and wrong created an alter ego years ago, she became the one doing all the unspeakable stuff. I don't believe she's purely evil, but she's become her own person and I can't reach her anymore" The woman looked down at her hands, stroking the burns that covered her palms.

"I might have someone you can talk to, once you are feeling a bit better" He gave her a tiny smile, she was surprised by the sudden sign of affection giving to her.

Fury turned his heels and walked out, leaving her once again alone with her thoughts.

Her eyes glanced around the sterile hospital room and stopped at the sight of the winter soldier walking past her room quickly looking in and meeting her gaze. He was interesting to her, she, of course, knew his history, hydra and all that jazz. Her father had once told about an encounter with the winter soldier, he had worked for hydra in the past and watched how the winter soldier operated - he was in awe of Barnes.

Barnes vanished down the hall again, Lena could feel her body screaming for rest so she gave in and laid her head on the pillow, closing her eyes.